About motion tracking – Apple Motion 4 User Manual

Page 1248

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About Motion Tracking

Motion provides a set of automated tracking behaviors that allow you to do the following:

Match move elements in movie clips: You can apply tracking data from a background

element (such as a billboard) to a composited foreground element (such as a graphic
of a logo) so that both elements appear to be locked together. This technique is known
asmatch moving.

Match move animated objects in the Canvas: You can apply the motion data of an

animated object to another object in the project. For example, you can attach a smoke
particle emitter to an animated spaceship so that a rocket exhaust trail “follows”
wherever the spaceship moves.

Stabilize camera movement in movie clips: You can apply tracking data to remove

unwanted camera movement or jitter in a movie or image sequence. For example, you
can smooth handheld camera shots.

Unstabilize movie clips: You can restore movement to a previously stabilized movie.

This technique is useful when you have stabilized a clip in order to add a foreground
effect but wish to restore the original camera movement to the final composite.

Track the position parameter of a filter: You can apply tracking data to the position

parameter of a filter. For example, you can make the center point of a Light Rays filter
follow a moving flashlight beam in a movie clip. The tracking data from the flashlight
beam is applied to a single parameter of the filter (the Center parameter), rather than
to the filter as a whole.

Track the control points of a shape or mask: You can apply tracking data from reference

points in a movie clip to the control points of a shape or mask. For example, you can
use this technique to attach a mask to a moving element in a movie clip, thereby
isolating that element to apply additional effects to it.

Motion lets you track one or multiple reference features in a clip:

One-point tracking: Track a single reference pattern (a small area of pixels) in a movie

clip to record position data.

Two-point tracking: Track two reference patterns in a movie clip and use the relationship

between the two tracked points to record position, scale, and rotation data.

Four-point tracking: Often referred to as four-corner pinning. Track four reference patterns

in a movie clip to record position, scale, and rotation data. The four trackers analyze
the relationship between four reference patterns, such as the corners of a picture frame
or television monitor. This data is applied to each corner of an image or clip to “pin”
the clip so that it appears locked in the picture frame or television monitor.

Multiple-point tracking: Track as many reference patterns in a clip as you like. You can

manually add trackers within the Analyze Motion and Stabilize behaviors. When you
apply a Track Points behavior from the Shape behaviors subcategory to a shape or
mask, a tracker is automatically assigned to each shape control point.

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Chapter 19

Motion Tracking

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